Traitor of Freedom

In a small house in the Sunogahara-cho settlement, anyone who can see it from the outside may mistake it for nothing but the abode of a group of women whose songs and performances give some color to the lives of the place's residents, but among them is a young lady who has turned her back against the people she once called as comrades and siblings.

"Hisako-san, Masami-san, I've brought some warm tea."

"Ay! Thanks a bunch!"

"Thank you… Tea is the way to go to not end up damaging our vocal cords."

After placing down the tray and pouring out two cups of tea for the two women who have just placed their electric guitars on their respective stands, she was then beckoned by the pouty voice of two girls.

"Hey, Hi-chi… Got any snacks for us?"

"We've been practicing since dawn, so I'm hella tired."

"I sure do. You aren't vocalists, so you can have some sweets for snacks."

"Wah! Macaroons and meringue!"

"This is perfect!"

After handing out the food and drinks, the young woman was about to turn and leave the recording room when her heightened senses let her hear the rear door of the house being opened and an unfamiliar sound of someone's stride entering their abode.

"Hm? Something wrong, Himari-chan?"

"…No. It's nothing, Masami-san."

"Is that so? Well, thanks for these. We'll be practicing for a bit more, so can I leave cooking rice to you today?"

"No problem, Masami-san. You can leave that to me."

After she left the recording room, Masami's plastered on smile was immediately erased and was replaced by a frown not carrying sadness but instead, frustration.

"So much for an infallible defense system."

Formerly named as Miyazono Himari and known for being one of the heirs of the lucrative mega-corporation that is the Miyazono conglomerate, she used to rule the world in the shadows, overpowering not only its competitors in the corporate and financial sphere but also entire countries who have all but fell down to be overly dependent servants of this corporation.

However, following their half-failed attempt to revive the long dead owner and master of the Miyazono corporation, and the one that she and her siblings call as their father, she was taken and imprisoned by the S.S.S and held as both a source of information and a bargaining chip. She wholeheartedly believed that she would one day be freed by her father who treated her as his own child, but it seemed like to Ryuuichi, some favors are easier to disregard rather than to pay back. Instead of rescuing her, she was replaced with a clone.

Being discarded by her father and substituted to her siblings and comrades who believed that her clone is really her, she chose to abandon that identity… dropping her family name and now only going with the name of "Himari".

Following the "Apokalypse" which has ravaged many parts of the world, her prison facility included, she was given a deal by the S.S.S who now no longer see her as a huge threat or a captive. Instead of spite, she has now been treated with indifference… and wishing to at least have a simple and slow life as her Replicant body deteriorated from the lack of maintenance that the S.S.S cannot provide for her, she chose to become a resident in the house of Masami's band and help out in there at the household chores that the bandmates have a hard time managing.

Though she is unsure if her former family and comrades have known about this decision of hers to just spend in peace what's left of her life, she had become wary of any unfamiliar happening around her, and wishing not to bring danger to the women who has taken her in and treated her like a human being, she decided to take the matter of this intruder with her own two hands.

"…"

"You have some gall to break into this house. Are you not aware that your life is forfeit to the house's residents once you come in uninvited?"

"I'm aware about that. If anything, I am the one who wrote that down as one of the Settlement's main rules."

"You are…"

"I beg your pardon with the unusual entrance. But knowing you, I thought this would be the best way to catch your attention without causing Iwasawa-san and the others to come here as well. They're preparing for the festival, the last thing I'd want to do is interrupt their practice."

The intruder is no other than Fujikawa Mana, the Chief of the Psychic Services Department of the S.S.S and one of the integral leaders of Sunogahara-cho's independent local government.

"Hehe…"

"…What are you giggling about? I'm just cooking rice."

"Nothing much. It's just amusing that someone who once held so much power is now just doing household chores in a quaint little house."

"Aren't we at the same boat? Your family once belonged to the political and economic elite, and you now just have a small house and are being attended to by a few servants who remained loyal to your family."

"Well, I can't deny that… After all, it came from the mouth of the one whose sibling was responsible for it."

"…Are you just here to fling mud with me? As far as I know, you are a busy person."

"I'd love nothing more but to come here and exchange snarky comments with you, but in that instance, you are very right. I am indeed a busy person and didn't come here just to snide you."

From her sling bag, Mana took out a tablet phone and showed her a document that Himari found a bit disturbing.

"This is…"

"The Festival of Flesh… but this time, led by Gardener Aokigahara Yoshino in an island away from Kyuushu. We received information about it only days before it started and by the time we got there, the place is seemingly clean."

"Seemingly?"

"With normal methods, the island would be seen as nothing more but an uninhabited island, but massive traces of Astra energy and bodily fluids made it clear that something happened there… and it is worse than the one that Rai-kun stopped a year ago."

Dar Fischa eu Platra or more commonly known as The Festival of Flesh, was a party or festival once held by the Miyazono Gardeners to empower their selves and the Spirit they carry as a Vessel. The earliest known iteration of it was simply a music festival not uncommon to normal ones where the emotions that ran high during the event was collected and became the food for the Miyazono Psychics' hunger for power.

However, they soon learned that the greater the degeneracy and savagery they can subject the attendees to, the more power they can reap and in some instances, they can even unlock the hidden strength of their Spirits.

This was already done by Hamasaki Satoshi before, who ordered for tens to possibly hundreds of innocent people being kidnapped in order to be served to his perverse and degenerate underlings… and the word "served" wasn't just done figuratively, there were also times when his underlings took it literally. Thankfully, he was killed by Ephraim and along with him, the Festival… until now, that is.

"Haah… If mankind wants to pursue degeneracy, let them pursue it. Don't you Agents and Sumeragi gangsters believe in personal freedom as well?"

"When I said "bodily fluids" it is not limited to the one that you'd think of in the context of what the late Gardener Hamasaki would do. Didn't you hear what I just said? This was organized by Aokigahara Yoshino…"

"Wait… are you saying that-"

"She extracted as much use from them as possible. After she has made them so drunk, high on narcotics, drowning in ecstasy from their lewd acts and half-dead in all other kinds of pleasure, she let her "children" to devour the attendees."

Mana turned the displayed document on the tablet to a page containing the uncensored images of the site caught using Astra energy-sensitive photo film. It was a sight able to turn even Himari's apathetic stomach upside down.

"Ever since the Seers of Death have initiated the "Apokalypse" and allowed innumerable Malignances to flood the earth and devour anything alive on their path, Yoshino also gained access to these Malignances that have been preserved in the dimensions where the Seers have corralled them. Although nothing indicates that she has been successful with domesticating or even just taming them, my department was ordered not to be complacent and now, I am here."

Mana took the tablet phone and glared towards Himari as if she's burning a hole into her head.

"To extract information from me? You've got nothing to get from me even if you lobotomize me and pry my mind for answers."

"I'm not here to interrogate you. I'm here to tell you about a deal that I believe you should consider greatly."

"What… do you mean?"

Mana sighed deeply before telling her something that she took a long time of considering before she decided to follow through on it.

"For the sake of mankind's safety and continued existence, I want you to lend your hand to us and fight against the people you once called as your family."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

After the "Apokalypse", life and the world itself entered a new era with its own set of truths and lies. For one, after the emergence and rampage of the Malignances, the S.S.S no longer had to hide the existence of Psychics and with that, almost all of their operational considerations and protocols meant to hide from public knowledge the existence of Psychics, Malignances and the factions acting in this war was either loosened or partially disregarded.

Normally, none of the common people should even be involved in this fighting. After all, the S.S.S was recognized and assigned by the government to be the first and last line of defense against the Miyazono corporation's Psychics and the naturally-occurring Malignances. By secretly taking Psychics who have awakened their powers and recruiting them into their folds, the S.S.S definitely drew the short stick when it comes to numbers as at first, it was only Fujikawa Mana and Ephraim Chronia who were Psychics in the agency. Even then, these two are exceptional Psychics and aided by forming a combined group with Sumeragi Psychics, they bloomed into fighters that have began to match the power of the Gardeners.

"H-Hold on! Don't kill m-"

"WAAAAGH!!!"

"Room clear."

"Copy. Proceed to the next room."

Although the Apokalypse brought death and destruction in an unprecedented scale all across the world, it also brought forth an event that raised the stakes in the war of the Psychics.

"Is that them? There's just seven?"

"…Yes. The Astra energy scanner says so."

"Good. Carefully bring them to the van while they're still asleep and let's bring them back to base."

"Yes, sir!"

Back then, it was believed that Awakening as a Psychic is either brought by a random happenstance, as it was for Mana, or facing and surviving a traumatic event, as it was for Ephraim. However, a new phenomenon brought into being Awakened Psychics who fall into a third criterion which is overexposure to and absorption of Astra energy.

"Average age and Psychic capability?"

"Their age ranges from 12 to 16 years old. All of them are at the upper-low power level to upper-middle power level. I'd bet that the strongest ones among them can bring down an Eta or Zeta-class Malignance."

"That tough, huh?"

This new third criterion usually happens to pubescent boys and girls who get caught in the middle of a naturally occurring Astra energy pool or at worst, the nest of Malignances where the monsters would bathe them in Astra energy to kill them off through Auto-aspir syndrome before devouring them. Either way, although there will be weak ones whose body cannot take in that unnatural power, there are those whose mind and body will accept and adopt it for its own use.

"Kageyama-senpai…"

"What's your opinion, Jun-kun? Can they be inducted into the S.S.S?"

"…If I am going to be completely honest, a few of them cannot be."

"Why do you say so?"

"Professional's opinion… these are just kids, Goro-san."

Although their situation is dire and they need every hand that they can be given, Jun spoke for the sake of the young ones' safety even at the risk of being the source of his superior's annoyance.

"Release them to the Department's care. Their stories all point that they are now orphans since they came from that camp which was decimated weeks ago."

"I refuse to back down on my decision. Orphans or not, they are still children."

"What the hell is your problem? With your logic, we were children too when Rai-senpai recruited us after the Old Tokyo Academy incident. How do we differ from these kids then? If they have the power, we should train and let them fight beside us."

"Not these kids, Senpai… They're nothing like us."

As if frustrated with Goro's insistence, Jun opened the door of the observation room and gestured for him to enter the room as well.

"Sit right there and tell me afterwards if I am wrong."

"…"

Although initially resolute with his decision, Goro slowly understood why Jun insisted to not have these children be included in the S.S.S's ranks.

"Shh, shh... Don't worry. We're here. You're safe here, child."

"Mommy…! Hik-! Why did mom have to die like that… I… I…!"

"…"

The circumstances that led to their Awakening and recruitment isn't the same as these kids. For Goro and the six other Psychics that was inducted and initially trained by Ephraim, the worst that they encountered during that decisive fight between the Psychic factions was seeing their school be destroyed and some of their classmates and schoolmates either be injured or at worst, turn into monsters that they cannot comprehend. By that metric, Goro and the others are already deserving of praise for not losing their mind and will to live…

However, the children they saved from a Malignance's nest had it worse. Not only was it possible that the camp they came from didn't have Psychics to protect it, that lack may have added to the horrendous sight that they witnessed after they were attacked by Malignances. Unlike how it was in the Old Tokyo Academy incident where government forces and the allied front of the S.S.S and Sumeragi group protected to the best of their ability the people, the current state of the nation has now left survivors travelling around and forced to fend for themselves against both human and supernatural dangers.

"Although I cannot dismiss the horrors that some of us witnessed back at that day, ultimately speaking, the people we lost there are just acquaintances and friends who we share no concrete bond with. Even if it may sound like I am dismissive and anti-social, that is what our bond with them is at the end of the day."

"…"

"These kids lost their parents and siblings… cornered in a life where their family is everything and losing it all in one fell sweep. I believe it's only proper that we cut them some slack and let them live in Sunogahara-cho without inducting them into our ranks."

"Even with that, I still cannot consider it. We're short-handed and these seven have potential to be strong fighters. For the sake of our chance to victory, I'd go as far as request a trial with Yurippe and the other leaders about this."

"Ugh… fine. Let's agree on a compromise then."

"Compromise? Alright, tell me your conditions."

"They'll be on the Reserves. They'll receive training from Misaki or Asato-senpai and a guarantee that they won't see combat until they have completed my mental therapy program."

"…I'll think about it first. I don't know why you specified to have them trained by Misaki or Hotaru, so I have to check their aptitude and Psychic type first."

"Fine by me. But those three conditions cannot be voided. I know that you've secured a lot of help from the Sumeragi group by bending the agreements you've had with them and frankly speaking, Yurippe's patience is wearing thin when it comes to you. So, I don't want to have any part with it if I can."

"This is my first-time hearing about this…"

"Probably because Chief Fujikawa is covering up for you… or Yurippe wants you to notice it by your own accord."

Standing on different grounds and carrying their own morals and responsibilities, Goro and Jun understood that the other side is unwilling to give them even an inch of ground in their negotiations. However, once Jun mentioned something that Goro didn't expect, his eyebrows knitted into a disturbed expression.

"Why would they not be direct with me about it?"

"Because you're a talented individual and a loyal one at that, so much so that you are prepared to wring out whatever you want from the Sumeragi group and risk end up antagonizing them… Yurippe values you and Chief Mana knows that you are doing this for everyone's good."

"…"

"Before I leave, let me just say this. It may probably help you out in one way or another… While entering the forest to partake in its bounty, also be wary that it is not always the giver."

"And where did that come from? A book? A game?"

"From the Sumeragi syndicate's old proverbs. They say that it is usually told to recruits who are unable to contain their desire to "contribute" to the group, thinking that it is what is being demanded from them when in reality, they are doing nothing but bring harm to themselves and those around them."

As he was left alone in the observation deck overlooking the children he has saved and was demanding to join their ranks as Psychics, Goro was bothered with the fact that he is now being scrutinized silently by both his comrades and their allies.

"I'd have to do better… I can't bring harm to the people anymore."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ever since the revival and the end of the limited recovery of the Miyazono corporation's founder and owner, Miyazono Ryuuichi, the Miyazono corporation and all of its other subordinate companies and affiliated groups became the uncontested masters of much of what remains in the world's geopolitical and geoeconomic fronts.

Even the Japanese government that used to be their formidable opponent, who time and time again has thwarted their attempts to enter the local politics in order to secure governmental positions, fell and was replaced by officials who are inwardly lapdogs of the company, willing to give the corporation all of the leniency that they can give.

Normally, the greatest and most powerful entity in a democratic country like Japan, which is the populace, would easily see how their leaders are no longer thinking about their own welfare and instead, has given a corporation special treatment. However, the Miyazonos knew about it and from written media to digital news websites, every facet of the media went under them and they in turn, hid the crimes of their masters, oftentimes even labeling those who question and attempt to correct their cover-ups as "spreaders of falsehoods" or "domestic terrorists".

However, the onslaught of the "Apokalypse" marked the end for much of the Miyazono corporation's subliminal activities such as media manipulation and covert governmental intrusion. With the common folk aware and fearful of the monstrosities that poured out to the world and are spreading death and destruction wherever they go to, the resentment against the Miyazono corporation, its underlings that continues to antagonize any who dare to go against them, as well as the new government that are clearly just lapdogs of the company, began to pick its momentum and now, it is beginning to boil out of the pot's rim.

{"STAND BACK! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING! STAND THE HELL BACK!!!"}

"You bastards! This is all your fault!"

"Give us back our families! How dare you do this to your own people?!"

"Push them back! Make these dogs pay for abandoning us!"

Whenever an official from the national government tries to cross the Sagami strait that separates Old and New Tokyo, protests that used to be common but peaceful in the old days now almost always turns into a brutal lynch mob that only disperses after the said official either escapes back to the new capital or had been killed by the mob.

"Beat him up!"

"You dare come here after all of you left us to die!?"

"Eat crap, bastard!!!"

The residents of Old Tokyo, no matter how much the remnants of the national government tries to win them back with token acts of charity drives or supposedly-glorious sounding speeches, has been steeped far too much in their brutal life of surviving attacks from Malignances or the struggle of acquiring resources that are also needed by other survivor camps.

Seeing the prim and properly dressed, well-fed and comfortable appearance of those that came from the other side of Sagami bridge, there are little to no people amongst those that are forced to live outside New Tokyo who wouldn't be frustrated enough to kill someone when those people come there and say that "we pity the circumstances you are in and therefore, we will be having this charity drive right around this area in Sagami bay."

The reason why these kinds of events can only be done there is because the Miyazono corporation doesn't want the survivors' attentions to get into the other places where they are waging war against the Sumeragi group and the S.S.S, as well as the fact that these are token gestures not just because of the "help" it reaches out but also because these officials, unwilling to face danger if ever a Malignance comes due to the mass of people, can easily retreat back to New Tokyo.

"Tsk! Another failed attempt!"

"Vice-minister, are you alright?!"

"I broke my arm while I was pulling back the minister… damn those ungrateful mongrels! Why won't they just accept that this is how things are going to be now?! They even killed the minister!"

"S-Should we bring you over to the hospital first?"

"Of course! This injury is killing me!"

The despondency of the public towards the government has been growing day by day. Civil disobedience and brutality against those who do not share your circumstances has become the norm for those who hasn't kissed the toes of the Miyazonos or was barred from entering the neo-cities because of their affiliation with the factions going against the Miyazono corporation.

Although it would be easy for many of these struggling survivors to shed their desire to go against the Miyazono corporation whom they already knew to have been the ones who started all of this division between the residents of the new and old cities, the degree to which they have grown to not just dislike but instead, utterly detest the Miyazonos has barred them from ever accepting a life of being under them.

And using that, a plan formulated by Furuta Renjiro, will become the opening strike towards the fall of the status quo so beloved by the Miyazonos and their underlings.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Are you sure about this, sensei?"

"Of course, I am. It may look stupidly simple and brash, but this is probably the best way for us to pay back the Miyazonos their dues."

After two days of collecting Malignances, our plan was finally brought to application. Within my sealing void, the pocket dimension of my Divine Weapon, over a hundred Malignances that are all fairly strong and durable, awaits the moment they will be released smack in the middle of the border between Old and New Tokyo.

"Is everyone in their positions?"

["Aye, sir!"]

["On point, Furuta-sama."]

["We're ready for everything."]

"Well then… Rai-kun, let 'em loose!"

With that signal, I undid my Diminisher bracelet as well as my control over my Astra energy and in an instant, my surroundings was bathed in the boundless atmosphere of my power.

"As the Vessel of Law, I invoke the machinations that govern this reality…"

"Here they are!"

"Surround them!!!"

Ever vigilant, even my almost instantaneous conjuring of my powers was immediately sensed and precisely traced by the Miyazono Psychics.

Some of them I recognized to belong to that Augmented Reality game due to their cybernetic enhancements, some of them I sensed to have bio-genetically enhanced themselves due to their irregular Astra energy and most of them were Seed Psychics, mass-produced clones of the same template individual.

"Open the gate of Caelestia's condemned!"

In an instant, the space in front of me warped and in the next moment, I saw nothing but jet-black blurs and fountains of blood.

"W-W-WHA-!?"

"B-Back! Get back!!!"

"H-How did-! How did they get here?!"

All of the sealed Malignances that we collected was let loose in the middle of the intersection of Sagami bridge. A stronghold that was deemed unimpregnable by the countless attempts to bring it down, now has their fortress' defenses going against them.

"It's done, sensei."

"Good. All units! The monsters are a loosed! Join in the mayhem and bring this place down!"

["""Roger!!!"""]

All over the radio, the voices of our comrades affirming the orders they were given filled the air. Moments later, several clashes of Astra energy and other booming sounds of a fight being started reminded me that using Mental Subspaces are no longer the norm.

"Get back here, Miyazono dog!"

"Eeep!!!"

"H-Help me!!!"

"GUARGH!"

"RAAAAAAHHHHH!!! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA-"

The sound of death throes, the smell of shed blood and torn flesh… It's been a long time since I was in a place like this and saw it once again in all its gruesome glory.

Still, something bothers me about all of this… I know that the size of our combat team reflects the sheer danger of this mission we took, but if this is simply a harassment tactic against the Miyazonos, there is something wrong with the way that we are conducting this.

"I didn't expect that we'd go this far, sensei. Aren't we just here to harass them?"

"About that, I lied."

"Haah?!"

"This is payback for not teaching your underling how to treat us fairly. He's been racking up favor after favor with the Sumeragi group since he became a commanding officer. Tricking you like this is the best way for you to repay it."

"Is it Goro? That damned brat…!"

"Don't worry, my lie isn't that far from the truth. If anything, this is for the better."

"What… do you mean?"

As he answered my question, his eyes changed color into one that indicates that he is using his Psychic powers.

"We're breaking open New Tokyo's supposedly unbreakable wall."

This is when I realized that Furuta-sensei- no, the Sumeragi syndicate, has changed its attitude and approach towards the Miyazono corporation.

"If they want war, we'll give them exactly what they want."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"W-What?!"

"You can't be serious!"

In the headquarters of the Miyazono conglomerate, the highest-ranking officials of the corporation was informed of the sudden attack in Sagami bay and that the attacking enemy force is hellbent on opening and exploiting the hole in the city's defenses that was deemed unimpregnable.

"What are the Psychics there doing?!"

"I thought we had Gardener Candidates- no, Gardeners in there!"

"Should we send more forces there, then?"

People who have abandoned all shred of their morality and humanity… people who should've never been allowed to hold the life or welfare of the millions of people inhabiting the city, are now deciding the best way to save New Tokyo. But it isn't for the safety of the public, but themselves.

"Wait! We're looking at this in the wrong way… We have ships and helicopters ready to leave the city at any time, let's go ahead and-"

"Mr. Takatsu, if I may ask you to calm down."

"-!"

"You're too scared of people who are far too inferior to even reach us."

At the seat of honor, a young woman who has become the leading figure of the company in lieu of her father spoke with a calm and eloquent voice.

"…B-But Miyazono-dono, these are those Sumeragi rats and their darned S.S.S allies! We can't afford to downplay the harm they can bring."

"All is well, Mrs. Onehara… All is well."

"Miyazono-sama! Why do you deem these individuals are harmless!? They may just become the greatest-"

Instantly, the indignant and nervous old woman who demanded an explanation from her, cut her sentence short and fell back on her chair.

"M-Mrs. Onehara?"

"Are you alright?"

"Ahem… It seems like Onehara-sama is dead."

"W-What?!"

From beside the young woman at the seat of honor, a man dressed in a butler uniform stood beside her and announced that the old lady has died.

"That is what would happen if you fear the enemy too much. Your heart will sink and die, for you lack faith in our assured victory."

"B-But how did…"

"Lady Miyazono has spoken. We will be victorious and none that the enemy can bear against us would affect that, didn't you say so, Himari-sama?"

"Yes, yes… You are very right, William. You really understand me very well."

Even with her monotonous voice as if it came from a soulless doll, and her glassy eyes that contained no true emotions, in the mind of this man who has devoted all of his heart to her, she is and will always be the object of his unceasing affection and loyalty.

"Himari-sama… if you will permit. I will handle these rats all by myself."

"Ehh... Wouldn't that be interesting?"